While having ridiculously impressive production values, there's so much more to BioShock than meets the eye...
The gameplay in BioShock is fantastic, and while not the farthest leaping in the first-person shooters category, does justice to the genre. Your weapons will consist of a standard pistol/revolver, a machine gun/tommy gun, a shotgun, and a grenade launcher. But in addition to these, you will come across a couple of more advanced weapons, including a chemical thrower (capable of shooting napalm, electricity, or liquid nitrogen at your enemies), and a crossbow. Now while a crossbow is really more of an ancient weapon, the reason why it is more advanced is due to the fact that each of your weapons has the capability of being loaded with three different types of ammunition. The weapons in the game, in addition to many other factors, give the game a refreshing retro feeling to it. But the most incredible characteristic of BioShock is how it manages to feel both retro and futuristic simultaneously. You don't just have guns in your arsenal. Due to several genetic breakthroughs in Rapture, you are capable of using special powers called Plasmids, which can range from elemental attacks, security interference, mind control, telekenesis, to various other powers. It gives the game a familiar, but new feeling.
It goes without saying that BioShock has stunning graphics. The artistic design is almost flawless, and the game has the most impressive water effects that I've ever seen. Suffice to say, BioShock is tasty eye candy. The only flaw in the technical values of BioShock is a strange hitching up problem that causes the game to freeze periodically for short intervals, resulting in a slightly choppy gaming experience. However, a patch was recently released in order to fix the problem, and (at least in my case) has helped tremendously. BioShock has some terrific voice acting and sound effects, but my favorite part of the game's sound was the soundtrack. From creepy, atmospheric music that sets the game's mood to classic 40's and 50's music played on record players, the game has a unique sound to it that will do nothing but intrigue you.
For a first timer, BioShock may take around 15-20 hours to complete on the medium difficulty setting, and is certainly worth a second or even third playthrough, in order to see the other possible endings to the game (in order to save you from spoilers, I will keep from revealing the factors that affect the ending you receive). The game is actually surprisingly easy, mostly due to a lack of death penalty. When you die, you get revived at the nearest vita-chamber, a sort of resurection device that allows you to respawn relatively close to where you perished. The weird thing is, everything you did before your untimely demise remains in place: your inventory is how it was the moment before your death, and enemies retain whatever damage you have done to them. This keeps the game from getting overwhelming, but keeps you from a huge feeling of satisfaction after a difficult battle because you know you could have died multiple times and still have won.
In any case, BioShock is a fantastic game and a true joy to experience. It has a thrilling story, brilliant production values, and a good length to it (with sadly no multiplayer component). But don't let that sway you, as BioShock is something that you truly something you want to experience for yourself. I recommend it very highly.